Uncouth
by cinderellaaa
Summary: Kurama x OC. Catfights, stalkers, randomly getting attacked by demons and everything in between. Rated T for occassional swearing.
1. Pilot

**A/N:** Okay, okay I have sinned ;_; I started a new story whilst I'm in the middle of another.

Since my childhood days, I had been a fan of Yu Yu Hakusho (_before I even started watching Pokemon, can you believe it?_), plus my favourite character has always been the lovely and _hothothot_ Kurama. So it seems only natural for me to write a story about him ^_^;;

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, because if I did the story would have turned into a twisted love story between me and every male character.

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><p><strong>PILOT<strong> (chapter 1)

The whole place was a mess at the girls' bathroom; the mop bucket was kicked aside and several sinks were overflowing with water, flooding the tile floors.  
>Groans and whining were audible from outside the locked door; it seems that a queue of students had formed outside, waiting to use the toilets.<p>

"Y-you…" A girl with badly bleached hair shook her head and pointed her finger towards me, "You took Kenji away from me! He was the one! I planned a future for us!" She yelled and threw her purse at the wall out of anger.

My eyes widened at that point, I don't think I've seen anyone pissed enough to throw a purse at a wall.  
>And this is how the story starts- me being the target of some girl's anger and jealousy. Is it the norm for me? No. But let's just say this was not my first encounter with angry, jealous girls with ugly hair.<p>

Behind the girl were three others with equally bad hair but almost double the scare factor. I mean, one looked like she played with an electric socket, didn't learn her lesson and played with it again, the other one looked like she hasn't slept in weeks plus the third looks like a 25 year old. They could pass as wrestlers with those kinds of arms…which I admit is very worrying in this situation.

"I reckon that anyone would leave you if you plan out a whole future with someone after being with them for 6 months" I retorted, "Besides, you're freaky as hell. Look at this place; it looks like the River Styx all because of your dramatic accusations. He just offered me a ride to school because it was pouring in the morning, so what?"

"Shuttup!" She yelled again, stomping on the flooded floor.

I looked at the ceiling and made a small wish to never be like this kind of person when I'm in a relationship. Sheesh, I wouldn't blame Kenji if he were to run to another city by foot.  
>But this really is a photo-worthy moment- how often do you see someone on a rampage like this? I'm certainly gonna look back at this moment a couple of hours from now and laugh to myself.<p>

The bleached hair girl (let's just call her BHG for short) gave her friends some kind of "go for it with your life and I will bail you out of prison" kind of look and in turn, the wrestler posse advanced towards me in slow motion.

I could sense my imminent death- I highly doubt I'll get through to this girl. I'd be shitting myself at this point if it weren't for my… let's just say, reinforcements.

Guess it's time for Plan B.

"I don't think you should do anything to me just yet" I said, with my hands in my pockets

"And why shouldn't I?"

"Because then Mr Nagasaki would be fired"

BHG's eyes widened, "…What…?"

At this point, I really couldn't help but smirk.

"Oh, you know what I'm on about. Your above average grades are not a result of studying, looks like you give him some frequent summer lovin'." I pulled out photos from my pocket, revealing images of her and the teacher standing at his doorstep, "The originals are with my friend who will be more than happy to post at the bulletin board if your hair even lands on me. She lives in his street, you know. It appears that not only do you love Kenji, you also harbour feelings for Mr Nagasaki"

She frowned so hard, her eyebrows looked like it could fuse together, "Are you for real? Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Did you think I'd believe you when you said you ONLY wanted to talk to me?"

BHG opened her mouth to say something but almost as if on cue, was interrupted by _**"Ooh ooh ooh ooh, Can you feel it burnin'? Ooh ooh ooh ooh…" **_

One of the cubicle doors opened and my friend Lita walked out, carrying a boombox whilst playing Burn by Usher.

Feeling a small surge of triumph, me and Lita left the bathroom, leaving BHG and her friends with their mouths open.

"Really, you had to play that song?" I asked her

"Yeah, I thought it was kinda fitting" Lita simply replied, chuckling, "But Reina, couldn't you have hurried things up? Carrying a boombox while hiding in a cubicle is more tiring than it sounds- the thing weighs more than you."

We briskly walked through the hallway to get away from the scene as quickly as possible. The further through the hallway we went, it became increasingly hard to ignore the crowd of squealing fangirls.

I rolled my eyes and walked through the crowd. Surprise surprise, Shuichi was the centre of attention.

"Ha, Minamino's smooth as always", I whispered to Lita as we swam through the crowd.

You could say that I'm one of the _rarities_- I don't seem to understand what's so charming about Shuichi. I find myself rather repulsed by him, actually. The dude is prettier than I am! Doesn't that seem kinda wrong? Yeah he's kinda good looking, incredibly smart, but he doesn't interest me. Just picture going on a date with the guy, he looks like the type of person who talks about nothing other than books, family or school. An honour student like him wouldn't have an interesting lifestyle.

I glimpsed at Shuichi who was simply sitting down at his desk reading a book, he's probably enjoying all this attention. I know those types of guys- they pretend to act cool and play hard-to-get to impress girls.

Me and Lita continued walking and met up with our other friend, Jai.

"So, no need to post these pictures at the school bulletin board?" She asked

"Nah, no need"

"Alright, you owe me ramen for this"

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><p>I knoww, the song Burn by Usher is waaay out of the time setting, but I just had to write it in !<p>

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and don't forget to review if you have the time (:


	2. Celery, tomato, spinach and lemon

**RING RING**

I scrambled across my bed to pick up the telephone. "Hello?" I mumbled, still feeling sleepy.  
>"Hello, I'm a representative from the Iwamitsu Company. Would you be intereste-"<br>I hung up the phone.  
>What the hell kind of telemarketer calls at 6am?<p>

After 5 minutes of trying to fall asleep, I gave up and stared outside my window. "That's strange", I whispered. A figure was standing next to a telephone pole; I rubbed my eyes and squinted, looking closer. It's a girl gazing at the house near me. I chuckled to myself, stupid stalker. That's what you call dedication right there- going to someone's house at 6 in the morning.  
>I sometimes wonder what feels like to watch someone from afar, knowing that the person you like would never like you back. It would probably be like a blow to the stomach. But then again, who'd like a stalker? Poor guy, I'd be paranoid if I knew that someone is watching me.<p>

I shrugged and started getting ready for school. _Ahh school, how I hate you_, I thought. With an hour to spend, I decided to study maths, my least favourite subject. Honestly, I don't see how trigonometry would be any useful in my life.

"Reeeeiinnnnaaaaaaa!" My mother called my name from downstairs, "breakfast is ready~!"

Sighing, I made my way downstairs, dreading what sort of food she prepared for me this morning.

"Tadaaaa~" She sang, bringing out a tray of… something, "it's celery sandwiched in the middle of tomato slices, garnished with spinach sauce and lemon!"

My mother is going through this all naturale` phase, you see. The only food that she's willing to prepare has to be made of ingredients she's grown in the backyard. Unfortunately for me she only grows those 4 things, so basically our recent food is just the same thing being made in different ways.  
>Thank goodness for the cafeteria, otherwise I'd die from malnutrition or starvation.<p>

I stepped out the front door and glanced at the telephone pole, there were three girls now. These stalkers are multiplying! My theory is that they're reproducing asexually to create more fan girls. They probably have a whole wall of candid pictures of their victim, and just stand in front of it for hours. Creepy.

I shook my head at them and walked to the train station.  
>"Reina!" I turned to see Jai waving and jogging towards me<br>"Hey, good morning" I greeted  
>"Reina, check out what I made last night". She held out a voodoo doll of her favourite rock singer, "This way I can stab him with needles if he goes out with someone other than me"<br>"Wow… it looks just like him…" was the only compliment I could think of. Any other person would probably be creeped out by this, but this is the norm for Jai. She's into the occult and a bit of a sadist, if you ask me.  
>"Jaaaaiiiiiaaaiiiiaaaiii, Reinaaahhhhh!" We turned around to see Lita walking carrying her boombox on her shoulder. As for Lita, I can only describe her personality as random, it's pretty hard to fully comprehend her. I mean, I none of us even knows why she carries that boombox around- it's been like an appendage to her from the day I met her. The three of us boarded the train, Lita was blasting obscene music, Jai was scaring people near us by talking to her voodoo doll and then there was me… I was just pretty much standing there like a normal person. Gosh, I'm so boring…<p>

When we got to school we barely made it in time before the bell rang, so we hurriedly went to homeroom and waited for the teacher to arrive. I was sitting there, content with my life until I realized… I FORGOT TO DO MY MATHS HOMEWORK! I could just bang my head on the desk- I was studying maths this morning, how in the world could I have forgotten to do the homework?  
>Out of desperation, I turned to the person next to me. Bingo, the perks of sitting next to the smartest guy in the school. "Psst, Shuichi" I whispered to him, "Mind if I take a look at your maths homework?" Shuichi smiled at me and simply replied with "I apologize but I cannot help you, I'm afraid". Geez, he sounds so polite when he's rejecting me, a simple <em>"nahh do your own work"<em> would have been okay with me.  
><strong>Snob.<br>** I slumped back to my desk and looked at the homework, gahh it all looks like a foreign language to me!  
>"I could, however, assist you in some areas you are having trouble with", Shuichi added.<br>"Great, but I sorta kinda actually need help in… everything…" I replied with shame.  
>He merely chuckled and proceeded helping me with this dastardly homework. Luckily for me, it turned out that the teacher got caught in traffic, buying me enough time to finish off my work just in time.<p>

Afterwards I thanked him and we didn't talk again for the rest of the day.

"Hey look at that guy" Lita pointed towards a guy in green uniform with his hair slicked back, "what's your first impression of him?" Lita has a habit of pointing out random people when the three of us walk around places after school. I shrugged, "I dunno… he looks like someone who would steal an old lady's wallet to impress his friends". "I reckon he's cute", she replied, "Dare me to credit card him?"  
>"Lita, please don't…No one's gonna credit card anyone today", I replied laughing.<p>

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><p><strong>AN:** If you don't know what credit carding is, it's the first definition in Urban Dictionary xDD  
>Also, the guy in green uniform is Yusuke LOL<p> 


	3. Giant lollipops!

**A/N:** Thanks to KuramaEnzanBlues for reviewing :)  
>Watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 the other day, IT WAS SO GOOD! If you haven't seen it, I recommend it... I'm just so sad that it's now over ;_; <p>

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><p>It was starting to get dark when me and my friends got off the train to go home. When we're together we laugh so hard that no sound comes out, so we just end up clapping our hands looking like complete fools. We parted ways at the station, saying our goodbyes with "see you on Monday" …gotta love Fridays. I exhaled deeply, this is the life; I am so at peace with the world.<br>I smiled as I walked home, I felt so carefree, so full of life.  
>I opened the door, ready to greet my parents. "I'M HO-"<p>

I was interrupted by a hand covering my mouth.

I let out a gasp of fright.  
>"Shhh… don't make a sound…"<br>I tried to look at the speaker,  
>"Quickly, let's grab some ramen for dinner. I'm tired of your mother's crap food"<br>I rolled my eyes, it was just my dad.

"Dad, one day I'm gonna get a cardiac arrest because of you", I complained.  
>"Oh boo hoo", he replied, "Give me some credit here- I saved your life from your mom's food!"<br>He's got a valid point there.  
>"Touche`"<br>We sat down and started eating our ramen, the restaurant is a pretty small and cozy place, my family used to love coming here since it's only a short walk from home.  
>After getting used to my mom's food, it felt as if I had never tasted good food before. Both of us savoured this meal like neglected children… maybe more so than I thought because a couple of people in the tables next to ours were giving me and my dad weird looks.<br>"So…" Dad tried to start a conversation, "I hear that Minamino kid was first place in the mid-year exams again"  
>I sighed, it's probably another study-harder-otherwise-your-next-room-will-be-a-cardboard-box kind of lecture. "Look dad, I try hard at school, but no matter how hard I try, I can't beat the number one, let alone the second…third….fourth…. the twentieth person…"<br>"I know" he stated, "You will never be number one"  
>"Wow, nice knowing you had complete faith in me, dad", I half chuckled<br>"But Reina, don't forget- you have your talents, your gifts!"  
>"And what would that be…?"<br>"You were gifted with my looks!" My dad stood up, full of enthusiasm, "GO FORTH MY DAUGHTER, SEDUCE HIM! DISTRACT HIM FROM HIS STUDIES!"  
>I facepalmed, how am I supposed to react to that?<br>"Nice. You're telling your own daughter to seduce someone? Aren't dads supposed to be saying the opposite?" I asked, "And sit down, geez. Everyone's looking at you like you're mental and should be restrained"  
>"On the contrary, I find myself to be a splendid father as I am able to teach you valuable life lessons"<br>"Yeah, like sleep with a smart guy to beat him in school."

After dinner, we went to the nearby shopping mall to kill time. The thing I love about shopping with dad is that he buys everything I want, as long as I pout and ask "pleaaaseeeeee?"  
>Within a mere half hour, we were walking around with several shopping bags and giant lollipops. We walked through the crowd; we were on our way to the exit when surprisingly I saw Shuichi and two other people. One was a short green-haired girl with a blue kimono who was walking in the middle of the two, and the second was a tall guy wearing blue uniform. Seeing Shuichi outside of school is a really rare event, this was probably the first time, plus girl is really pretty, she has got to be going out with Shuichi, there's no way she'd go with the ugly one. Yep, they're definitely on a date and the blue uniform guy is probably the third wheel. How interesting, I really couldn't wait until I tell his fangirls that Shuichi is taken.<br>Hmm, I wonder what those two talk about; maybe that girl enjoys listening to a guy talk about school all the time or how good the book he just read was. I dunno, it seems there are people in this planet who enjoys talking about mundane things.  
>But I guess it's weird seeing him after my dad told me to seduce him…<br>I quickly dragged my dad outside to avoid any of his extremely unnecessary outbursts.

After we got home, I did the usual night time routine which consists of bathing, brushing my teeth, the usual stuff then I settled down to do a bit of light studying. The fact that I was studying on a Friday night is an accomplishment.

But alas, I gave up after fifteen minutes of staring at the wall.

I looked outside the window to see if there were any stalkers. Nope, no one was standing next to the pole.  
>Wait a second…<br>My attention shifted its focus on a small guy wearing a black cloak.  
><strong>There's a man in the tree.<strong>  
>What the heck?<br>Whoever he or she is, the person living near me has really weird stalkers.

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><p>Hehe, halfway through the chapter, I realized I had been writing <em>Kurama<em> instead of _Shuichi_  
>_"<p> 


	4. Enter my recluse brother

"I love his red hair, he's so smart, he's so good looking, he's so dreaamyyyy!"

It was sickening watching a bunch of girls coo over a guy.  
>"And his eyes are so beautiful, I can just stare deep into them all day!" nameless fangirl agreed.<br>Yep, this is basically how gym class goes, the girls pretend to be sick so they can sit at the benches and collectively admire Shuichi.

"He's taken, you know", I said to them whilst casually chucking crumpled paper balls at random fan girls. "Oh really?" Lita asked as she joined me in throwing random stuff at fans,  
>"Tell me about the girl who caught the attention of Minamino", added Jai who was laying on the bench. "She was a cute girl with a blue kimono… just a tad shorter than us and she has green hair", I explained.<br>Just after I mentioned her hair colour, it sounded pretty odd to me. I mean, green hair? But I guess a lot of people had been showing up with unnatural hair colours anyways.

Some of the fan girls gasped and looked at me, "No", the fanclub president stepped out from the crowd and walked towards us, "We refuse to believe such nonsense".  
>I focused my paper-throwing to her,<br>50 points if I hit her forehead.  
>"Well it's up to you if you choose to believe it- <em>50 points<em>- but you don't think that he'll be single his whole life, right?  
>"We are waiting for him to go out with one of us", she replied in a poker face, unresponsive to my paper throwing.<br>"You know, he probably wouldn't choose to go out with a stalker"  
>"I see…are we rivals in love?" She asked me, "Perhaps you are chasing after him too. In that case, I accept your challenge"<br>_Wait, what…? Me love Shuichi? Hell no._  
>I just looked at her,<br>"No- I think you're misunderstanding… I'm not competing over Minamino, heck I barely know him, nor would I ever like him."  
>The fanclub president <em>slightly<em> smiled, "Yes, it's wise of you to back down from this challenge. Shuichi-sama will be ours. See ya around, Reiko"  
>I frowned, "…It's Reina."<p>

"If she ever catches fire, I'd just watch her and drink the last cup of water", I complained to my friends about the fanclub prez, "Besides, she can't just act cool like that when she's only a freakin' stalker!"  
>"Hey, chillax hun, let's blackmail her", Lita suggested<br>"Or we can kidnap Rodney, her pet hamster", Jai added.  
>"No it's alright, I feel like letting this one slide….Wait, how do you know she has a pet hamster and what its name is..?" I asked suspiciously.<br>"It's a woman's intuition", Jai simply replied.  
>I decided not to ask any more questions as her answers usually lead to more confusion.<p>

"I'm home!" I yelled as I walked through my front door afterschool.  
>"OMAHGAD,OMAHGAD,OMAHGAD" My mum ran up to me, "Reina, sweetheart, dearie, my favourite daughter-<br>"I'm your **only** daughter" I interrupted,  
>"Honey, you're a good girl right? You love your mom and dad, right? You want us two to be at ease in the rest of our rapidly aging lives<strong>, RIGHT<strong>?" she asked me, sounding creepier by the minute.  
>I sighed, "What do you want…", When she asks me these kinds of questions, it's obvious that she wants something.<br>My mother looked at dad then back to me, "Sweetie, my lovely Reina, would you mind looking after your brother for like… a week? Or two?"  
>"…What? Why?"<br>"Reina, your mom's sister in Kyoto is refusing to leave her house again, because her pet pig had a seizure", my dad replied, shaking his head, "So now we're heading over there to help her out and talk to her or something".  
>I sighed,<p>

1. My aunt is cracked in the head.

2. My brother Kazushi is a hikikomori*, he's actually older than me by two years but I have to look after him since he never leaves his room.

"Fine, I'll look after Kazushi, you two can look after aunt Sae…"  
>Not like I had any choice to begin with.<br>"Oh, I knew I could count on you, my dear!" my mom rejoiced.  
>"So when are you two leaving?"<br>"Ohhhh..Tonight."

The next couple of hours were spent on helping my parents pack for the week and cooking dinner for us four. I could very well just be the mother of this family, but I can't complain- I pretty much have a whole week or so to do whatever I want.  
>In this situation, most people would think of hosting a parttayyy- and I have actually done that last time my parents left me with the house, but I learned from my mistakes…<br>Last year someone accidentally stumbled into Kazushi's room. Now, this wouldn't be so bad but the sheer suddenness of someone he doesn't know opening the door only made Kazushi more frightened and resulted in him trying to jump out the window with the poor girl.  
>I shook my head to get rid of that memory; I saw hell from my parents that month.<p>

After my parents took off, I took a tray of food upstairs to Kazushi's room.  
>"Knock knock~" I chimed after knocking twice and entered the dark room, "dinner is served!"<br>"Oh, th-thanks Reiko" a boy in his late teens with shoulder-length dark hair and wrapped up in a blanket on the floor turned towards me, "Sorry for troubling you as always"  
>"Don't mention it", I replied<br>"Hey, did you know that a new t.v. show will replace dad's favourite one next week?"  
>"Oh really?"<br>"Yeah, by the way I think I've been seeing some weird shadows around the trees in the street recently…" he started to wrap himself up more with the blanket  
>"Kazushi, I'm sure they're birds. Just don't think about it too much; your imagination is scaring you again"<br>He nodded then reached for the remote. My brother developed an anxiety disorder only a couple of years ago, so I guess shutting himself in his room was a way to cope.

Two hours and a headache later, I set down my maths textbook for the night. I really can't get my head around these things, but I tried and it's the thought that counts. Well, that's always my excuse anyway. I glanced at the clock, it was 1AM. _Damn, I'm gonna have a hard time getting up tomorrow morning._  
>I got out of the desk and opened the window, the breeze is cold tonight. I noticed a handprint on the window which I must have made when I opened it. I put my hand over it and zoned out of a couple of minutes then went to bed and looked at the window before I closed my eyes.<p>

_Strange, the handprint was made from the outside of my window.  
>But that's impossible, my room upstairs<em>.

*A/N: A hikikomori is a recluse who may tend to lock him/herself to a room or their house.


	5. I'm possibly a future diabetic

**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP**

"Gwah!" I got tangled in my blankets and fell out of bed in a heap whilst scrambling to turn off my alarm clock.  
>I really should sleep early next time.<br>Oh, who am I kidding, I resolve to sleep early every morning after every night of staying up late.  
>The good thing is I'm on time, so I walked hazily over to my bathroom to kick start the day feeling nice and fresh- well that's what I thought until I looked at my clock.<br>8:00AM.

HOLY CRAP! I slept past my other 3 alarms!  
>"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" I charged to my shower with my uniform.<br>A power shower, that's what I call it, when I must bathe myself within a restricted time frame.  
>I ran around the house packing my bag and eating breakfast at the same time while also brushing my hair and putting on my uniform.<br>Alas, I'm on time… if I sprinted to school.

I ran out of the house, once again cursing myself to sleep earlier tonight.  
>Being my unfit lazy self, I was actually surprised that I'm actually able to run.<br>With a school uniform and a heavy bag full of textbooks, any regular person shouldn't even be able to walk properly.  
>I mean, putting a huge load of weight on one's back would shift their centre of gravity and throw them off balance.<br>Okay I actually know nothing about this- I'm only making excuses because I don't wanna run with a school bag.  
>Halfway to school, I stopped. Kazushi! I forgot to get breakfast for Kazushi!<br>"Dammit!" I yelled to myself, attracting the attention of a couple of students and elderly people.  
>They looked at me with widened eyes as I raced home, yelling like King Leonidas from the movie 300.<br>"KAZUSHI! Reina's coming!" I grabbed the plate of pancakes and barged into his room, ignoring his startled reaction and ran back to school.

I managed to reach the school gates a couple of minutes after the first bell, so at least I don't have to report to the office for my tardiness. "Sorry I'm late" I bowed as I entered homeroom.  
>"This is the third time this semester that you're late, Reina" my teacher turned towards me in slow motion for dramatic effect, "You better come up with a good excuse to save your ass this time".<br>"I, uhh- I…"  
>The teacher tapped the board with her chalk, waiting impatiently.<br>"I woke up late?"  
>"Not good enough. You'll be staying two hours after school. You waste my time, I'll be wasting yours".<br>Groaning, I unwillingly sat at my desk.

"Two hours after school isn't so bad" Shuichi tried to reassure me.  
>"You're right, but it is Friday today and I had plans to go somewhere straight after school finished", I replied.<br>"Well, aren't you a social butterfly"  
>"Not really, I only planned to stuff my face with ice cream at my favourite dessert place"<br>He looked at me for a couple of seconds, "It's just ice cream, you could consume it any other time"  
>"Minamino, it's ICE CREAM we're talking about, it's more important than homework or detention"<br>He chuckled lightly and turned back towards his book. Clearly this man doesn't understand the importance of ice cream.

"1 hour and 45 minutes to gooooooooooooo…" I groaned from my desk after school.  
>Thinking of all the ice cream I could have eaten…<br>_WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALLLLL ~_  
>I sighed and paced around the room, if I left now… I wonder if the teacher would find out. Leaning against the door, maybe it was best to be safe staying for 2 hours rather than risking a greater punishment.<br>I stared blankly at the clock- another hour and a half until I can go home. Sighing heavily, I leaned back on the chair and stared at the window. What is there to do in this forsaken place? I looked at the clock once more, time hates me, not even a minute has passed.

Finally I decided to get up and make my way back to the door; I guess the teacher won't know that I left early if she's not here. I slowly turned the door handle and ran outside- well, attempted to run outside but I ran into an obstruction, and by obstruction, I meant face-planting the surprisingly solid mass of muscle which is Shuichi. I know this because I unwittingly reached out in front of me and immediately identified nicely toned abdominal muscles. Mhmm~

But I shook my perverted mind (and hand which was still resting on the poor guy) awake and backed away a couple of steps.  
>"S-sorry!" I sounded a bit flustered.<br>"Oh, my apologies for impeding your escape" he sounded half sarcastic and surprised, "I must've let slip from memory that you were still here"  
>"I see…" I said, returning to my seat, "Did you forget anything here? Because the classroom is almost completely empty right now"<br>"No no, I find it more peaceful here afterschool, that's all"  
>"Dude… who willingly stays back at school on a Friday?"<br>"I do" he simply replied like it's a normal thing, "Sometimes I appreciate the fact that our school is virtually desolate after school hours"  
>"Oh… okay" I replied awkwardly, what am I supposed to say in response to that? If he wanted to be alone, there's a thing called one's own bedroom or a park or something…<br>No reply from him.  
>Instead, he resigned to his seat next to me and pulled out a book and resumed reading from where he left off.<br>I gotta admit, this was really awkward.  
>Us two were sitting next to each other in complete silence, with me not knowing where to look at or what to do and some vaguely mysterious nerd next to me.<br>Inner Reina cringed, _JUST GO HOME! Go read your book in your own room! Go and be deep and emotional someplace else!_  
>"-So if you wanted to proceed with your weekend plans, you can trust that I'll cover for your absence" he finally broke the silence, almost as if he understood what I was thinking.<br>How isolated does this guy wanna be from other people? Geez. But nonetheless I graciously accepted the offer- after all, he's the ultimate student who is trusted by all teachers. Yep, I can safely say that I won't see hell from my teacher about sneaking out of detention.

"Well thanks Shuichi, I owe you one!" I grinned broadly and gave him a light pat on the back.  
>As soon as my hand made contact with him, a sudden powerful jolt ran up my arm and I quickly retracted my hand. Wow, that must have been a hell of a static electricity shock. Did this guy rub himself with a dozen balloons or something? (Ew mental image)<br>Shuichi must have noticed it too as he looked at his own hand then at mine with an unreadable expression.  
>That's the thing that bugs me about Shuichi sometimes, he can never look angry, sad or confused like a normal person. He always has this blank expression for pretty much every emotion other than happiness.<br>"Uh, yeah I'm gonna go now" I said and power walked out the door to my favourite ice cream parlour.

That night, I climbed onto bed with my Friday night pyjamas and a bloated stomach from eating a mountain of sweets.

I dunno if I have greasy hands or if it's time for a clean, but there's five more handprints on the window.


	6. Gone without the wind

AAAAAAND FINALLY HERE IT IS!  
>After months of writer's block, IT'S FINALLY HERE!<br>Sorry guys for my lack of updates, but school work is so UGUGHGHHH, but fear not! I found ways to sneak some writing in between my workload.  
>:) Thanks again to everyone who has favourited, reviewed or at least read the story ^-^<p>

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><p>"Guys, mind helping me out a bit?" I called out to Jai and Lita who were sipping tea whilst I vigorously scrubbed the floor.<p>

"Nah, we're alright", Lita said nonchalantly then resumed drinking her tea.

I sighed and continued cleaning, "how did I land myself a couple of lazy and unreliable friends?"

"Well, you know the saying: tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are. You're a lazy ass yourself", Lita retorted

"…_touché_", I replied.

Normally it goes like this, we invite ourselves to whomever's house has no parents in the weekend and annoy the living hell out of them. So unfortunately, I'm gonna be housing a couple of freeloaders for a while.

"REIINNAAAAAA~I'm hungry." Lita pouted

"Then get your own food!" I called back to her

I sighed once more and stood up to wipe a bead of sweat rolling down my forehead, maybe I should hire a housekeeper.

I looked up to see Jai walking upstairs, "H-HEY! I JUST CLEANED THAT!" At this point, I gave up and sat down on a chair next to Lita, "Remind me to change the locks so you two can't enter my house…"

Lita chuckled and took another sip of her tea.  
>"You know-"<p>

"HEY! AND WHEN YOU SEE THAT STUPID BABY, TELL HIM TO STOP GIVING ME MISSIONS WHEN I'M HAVING MY BEAUTY SLEEP!"  
>A guy in green uniform ran past my house in an unbelievable speed.<p>

"Isn't he the guy whose ass I wanted to swipe with a credit card?" Lita asked, looking outside the window.

"Oh yeah, Mr. Credit Card!" I replied; giving him a nickname that I can refer to if I ever see him next time.

"I wonder what's he doing in this neighbourhood..."

**-MONDAY-**

I slumped down on my chair and waited for homeroom to begin. I spotted Ms. Gossip, a nickname I have for this girl who always comes up with the juiciest things about people, and asked if she had anything new. She told me that the class president is now dating a guy with a reputation of being a player. We suspect that he's using her to rescue him if he gets in trouble for skipping school.

"Okay everyone be quiet. I'm gonna mark the attendance today" the teacher walked in.  
>I yawned as the teacher went down the class register.<p>

"Shuichi?" She asked, looking around the class, "Oh Shuichi's not here today?"

Everyone in the class also looked around the room. That's so weird; the model student is rarely absent.  
>Maybe he's decided to skip school for the first time.<br>Maybe he skipped school to see his green-haired girlfriend.  
>Who am kidding, he'll never miss school for anything. I bet he cries in his room if he ever gets a question wrong in a test.<p>

**-A few days later-**

At the end of the week Shuichi still hasn't shown up. It's really weird. People in the grade are already cooking up conspiracy theories to explain his absence.  
>My favourite one so far is that he wasn't a human to begin with and went back to his own world to do some unfinished business. Maybe to finish his research about humans or something.<br>It's funny how some people can make up such farfetched stories.

But come to think about it, there was a time that he was absent for an entire month and all of a sudden he returned and acted like nothing happened without providing a reason why he was away for so long.

_Suspicious._

He would have perfect attendance and when he is absent, he would be gone for such long periods of time.

I saw Jai and Lita during lunch and an idea popped in my head.  
>"Hey Jai, how would you rate your locker-opening skills?"<br>"Well practised, why?"  
>"Since Shuichi will be gone for a while, wanna check if he's got study notes for the quiz coming up?"<br>Lita and Jai nodded simultaneously, I'm so evil. I can be like a spy or something.

The three of us made our way to his locker and let Jai do her thing. Without much resistance, the locker door opened revealing nothing but a rose.  
>"Is this some kind of joke?" Lita punched locker in disappointment, "now I really have to study!"<br>Jai and I looked at her with scepticism; we both know she won't study.

The entire evening was spent on the three of us walking around the city, boy hunting.  
>Mission failed. All we got were three men spouting some cheesy pickup lines.<p>

In the end we retired for the day and went back to our homes.  
>I turned on the radio and crawled into bed.<p>

As I was about to drift off, my mind wandered to the cute guy sitting near me in English class. He's so yummy.

Before I knew it, I dozed off to sleep.

Unaware of an inhuman figure at the doorway.


	7. The start of a barrage of questions

I'M ON A ROLL HERE! Another chapter within 3 days?  
>Thanks again to everyone for reading :)<br>Phew, this is starting to pick up a bit, expect a few more chapters in the following week ^-^

* * *

><p>"Takashi", I saw the cute guy from my English class with his back turned towards me.<p>

"Takashi", I called out his name once more, hoping to catch his attention, only to be ignored once more.  
>To my dismay he began to walk away from me.<p>

"Takashi, wait!" I called and ran after him, "I still haven't gotten your number!"  
>He stopped and slowly turned around.<br>"ggrvvvhgrhhghhchjf"  
>"…what?" I tilted my head in confusion.<br>Takashi paused, then opened his mouth and made weird breathing noises.  
>"…what the f-"<p>

I woke up with a start and stared at my ceiling. Holy crap that was weird.

I heard the weird breathing noises once more.  
><em>Huh, it seems like I'm still half asleep. <em>  
>In my half asleep state, I turned to my side<p>

and saw a face above my bed.

…..

"OHMYHOLYMOTHEROF-GAAAHHHH!"  
>I didn't even have time to finish my sentence as I sat upright on my bed, screaming and virtually paralysed in fear. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?<p>

I couldn't see much detail in this dark, but it looked like a green-brown half goblin, half pterodactyl. It had neither feathers nor fur. The thing had a crooked beak, stood on its legs and had weird goblin ears. Again, what the hell is that thing? And why is it here? What's happening?

For a couple of seconds, I sat there and just looked at it. _This was quite possibly the rudest awakening I've ever experienced. _

I felt the colour drain from my face as the creature spread out its wings and made a loud screeching sound. I knew I had to get out.  
>I scrambled out of my bed and made my way to the front door.<br>Well, easier said than done. Still sleepy and overtook by panic, my legs felt like jelly and I stumbled down the stairs.

I looked back to see the pterodactyl thing fast approaching me.

Feeling the sudden surge of adrenalin pumping in my blood, I clumsily got back up to my feet and bolted out the front door.

It felt like my heart was beating right next to my ears, I've never been this frightened before and I was starting to get dizzy because of it.

_Was this real? This shouldn't be real. But what the shit is that? _

I opened my mouth to scream for help but no sound came out; instead I choked out a couple of squeaking sounds. Great, my loud mouth is absolutely useless when I really needed it. I ran aimlessly down the street, trying out other peoples' front doors to see if any of them were unlocked.  
>Unfortunately I'm alone.<br>Out in the street, it was unbelievably quiet; the monster made no sounds, but the occasional sound of nails scraping the concrete behind me was a sign that it was getting closer. I didn't have enough time to do a quick reality check, my thoughts were all scrambled in my head- most of them were a long list of profanities.

I turned around in time to see a claw and I was thrown sideways and forcefully hit my back on a tree trunk behind me. OUCH.  
><em><strong>Yep, I'm gonna die.<strong>_

I saw it step closer and closer to me.

This is how I'm gonna die. A monster is gonna kill me. Why can't this thing attack a scientist instead? They're the ones that want to discover new creatures.

What did I do to deserve this? Sure I had some impure thoughts about the captain of the swimming team, but I'm sure everyone else has!

"If you're here to punish my sins, I wanna defend myself by saying that I do not make up the gossip about the people in my school. I'll point out the girl to you! I didn't mean to steal someone's lunch last year! I was hungry!" I pleaded to the beast.

It ignored my words and continued to advance towards me.

This would be the final moments of my life. I'm going to die here.

I hope it's a quick painless one.

The pterodactyl took one more step towards me until it was breathing on my face.

"EAT A TIC TAC!" I blurted out.

Yep, those would be my final words in world. Damn it, why can't I think of more heroic lines to say at this time?

The pterodactyl screeched again and raised its claw, ready to strike. I closed my eyes to wait for the blow that would end my life. "If you want my wallet, you can ta-"

….  
>"Rose whip!"<p>

"uh…Rose whatnow?" I opened one eye, half expecting the creature to whip me with a bouquet of roses.

Instead, the thing was convulsing on the ground, sporting a fatal-looking wound to the chest.

I looked up to see- and can you believe it- Shuichi Minamino with a whip that looks like a rose stem.  
>"…I think I've seen everything now…" I said weakly and my knees buckled.<br>The nerd in my class managed to save my life with a plant stem.

"Reina, are you okay?" Shuichi held out a hand to help me get back up.  
>Ignoring it, I looked up at him, "I…What… What the bloody hell is all of this? And how did you get here?" I couldn't piece together a proper sentence without spewing a whole line of crude words.<p>

Suddenly drained of all my energy, I leaned back on the tree and studied my surroundings. Is this really happening? I'm out on the street in my pyjamas in the middle of the night with a monster dying on the ground in front of me and Shuichi standing above us like it's not a big deal.

"Reina, I can't explain everything to you right now but if you would allow me to ensure your safety…"  
>"Is that thing real?" I interrupted, pointing at the monster.<br>"Yes, that is real" he replied, "It's a demon from the demon world. Reina, I can't assure you that it's safe for you in this location…"  
>Without listening to the rest of his sentence, I couldn't help but doze off. This is all a dream, a freaking random and crazy dream.<p>

Once I wake up, I'll be curled up and wrapped in my blanket like a burrito.


	8. A wall of answers

-LE GASP- Another chapter? Man, I am really flowing with new chapters nowadays! I guess maybe because I'm trying to put off studying...  
>Anywho, enjoy :) And once again, thanks for everyone who favourited, subscribed and reviewed!<p>

* * *

><p>I was eased into consciousness by the sounds of murmuring above me.<p>

I opened my eyes slowly and saw a bunch of random people and Shuichi sitting around a TV. I sat upright from the couch that was I previously lying on and realized I'm in a house that I don't recognize. "Where am I?" I asked with an unsteady voice.  
>"So, sleeping beauty has finally awaken", an old lady walked over to me, "you're at your friend Shuichi Minamino's house"<br>Ughh, so it really wasn't a dream.  
>I rubbed my forehead, "last night really happened did it?"<br>The old lady nodded her head but didn't say anything.  
>"And my brother Kazushi?"<br>"Sorry..." a guy clad in a green uniform walked over to me in a grim face.  
>"Mr. Credit Card", I said in recognition, then took in account what he just said.<br>Does that mean… My brother Kazushi... And the monster...

I stayed silent and felt my face burning so I turned away from the two.  
>"SYKE! Nah he's all good, Kurama and I checked out your house and everything's fine" he said with a goofy grin and patted my back.<br>The old lady slapped him over the head, "Dimwit! This isn't the time for your stupid pranks!"  
>Mr. Credit Card pouted angrily and rejoined the people at the TV.<br>"You're gonna have to excuse Yusuke, he's my idiot apprentice. He may have given you a bad first impression, but he's a good guy I guess", the old lady explained.  
>"That's alright, just made my blood stop for a second though...who's Kurama?"<br>The old lady pointed towards Shuichi.  
>"Although I'm sure you know him as Shuichi. He went by the name Kurama in the demon world. There's a lot that you don't know, but we'll bring you up to speed soon"<p>

Demon world? If this is this a game that Shuichi plays with his friends, then my opinion of him will reach -10 on my scale.

The old lady sighed, "you look to be as lost as a Chihuahua in Disney World, I think Kurama owes you an explanation on a lot of things" she nodded to Shuichi and as on cue, he sat on a couch opposite me and began to explain all about demon world, spirit world, spirit detectives and everything in between. Honestly, I didn't know what to do with this information, but a hunch told me to believe him.  
>The old lady whom I came to know as Genkai gave me a light pat on the shoulder and left the room to grab some tea.<p>

"So demons are real..." I repeated for the umpteenth time.  
>"Yes, they are" Shuichi also repeated for the umpteenth time.<br>If everything that Genkai and Shuichi said were right, it means that he isn't simply a nerd with an education fetish.  
>Huh, who would have thought that he was a powerful demon... Ironically the conspiracy theories were right.<p>

"Another question- why did you choose to tell me about your secret worlds? I'm simply a human, was I just coincidentally attacked by a random demon?"  
>Shuichi looked at Genkai who nodded to him from the doorway.<br>"While it is true that you're a human, by chance, you were attacked when you were 4 years old by a demon. You see, in the demon world there is a group of demons who favour humans and are split into 2 factions, one consists of pacifists who chose not to devour humans, however the other group is interested in humans for their scientific purposes" he explained, "you were attacked by a demon in the latter group at a young age when you happened to be nearby when he was drawn to my demon energy. We believe his experiment failed and the resulting effect is your inheritance of his demon powers"

"...Like Harry Potter?" I asked  
>"...Yes, like Harry Potter" Genkai rolled her eyes.<p>

"You inherited the demon power to create force fields. I assume your abilities lay dormant throughout your life, only to take affect when you were assigned a seat next to me in the beginning of the year, being exposed to my powers must have catalysed this whole event. Unbeknownst to you, small portions of my demon energy have been steadily converted and utilized by you in a hybridized form of energy. We have reasons to suspect that the recent influx of class D demons in this town is the likely..."

"Shuichi, Plain English please" I interrupted.

"In other words, you've somehow found a way to steal small and steady amounts of Kurama's demon energy and using it for yourself, you dim-witted girl" Genkai finished, "maybe you weren't aware of it the whole time. But since Kurama noticed you were doing this, there have been a lot more low level apparitions in town. He went to the Spirit World library for a week and found out you were steadily forming multiple force fields in Demon World, across different demon territories".

_Why couldn't Shuichi have said that in the first place? Now I look stupid. _

So if I understood what they just said, I've been stealing Shuichi's demon energy thing to take over demon territories with force fields without me knowing. And without a place to go, low class demons have been flocking here. Especially to track down the source of the force fields.

**WHAT THE HELL?**

"This... It seems like too much right now" I looked at Genkai and Shuichi.

10 hours ago, I was a simply high schooler with raging hormones.

"Well, put up with it, like how Yusuke had to put up with eliminating demons from your house in Kurama's absence" Genkai started to get impatient "Well, the late demon got past him because the idiot fell asleep...but what you need to know right now is that you'll be staying with me to train for 3 months to control your energy before you're demon chow"

_Did she just say 3 months...? _What about school? What about my life? What will my family say; I can't just say that I'll be training at an old lady's house for 3 months to harness my powers!

"Uhh, Genkai I can't do that"  
>"You don't understand the gravity of this situation!" Genkai stood up<br>"You clearly don't understand my parents!" I retorted, "They won't even let me out past 1am! I have an established life before any of this happened!"  
>Genkai sat down and sighed in exasperation. "Fine. It can't be helped. Since Kurama is closer to you than any of us, he'll be your mentor to help control your energy. The way you are now, it's like hanging a neon sign above you for every demon to see. I don't think you'd want to endanger your family and friends. You two can just swap timetables or sort out your schedules or something."<p>

I looked at Genkai with a blank stare.  
>I'm going to be spending time with Shuichi? I've always dreaded and tried to avoid this kind of experience with him. Being near him has never been anything other than awkward.<br>Although I know now that he's a demon, it still doesn't change the fact that I've even actively trying to avoid him my whole high school life!  
>"You can swing by here every Friday after school" Shuichi told me, "it's the only day throughout the week that I have free time"<br>Oh great, now my Friday evenings are booked out too.  
>"...Sure" I replied, making sure to show my obvious lack of enthusiasm, "hey, I'm gonna go now... My brother would be worried sick if I'm gone without notice any longer"<br>Shuichi and Genkai nodded and I said my goodbyes to everyone in the house and stepped outside the front door.

One glance outside and I recognized my street. Great, it seems that we're neighbours too. Well, I guess it explains a lot. I rubbed my forehead again, I felt a headache coming. I took a deep breath and thought of everything that I was just told.

I WANT MY NORMAL LIFE BACK! I WANT OUT OF THIS WHOLE DEMON BUSINESS!

I don't want to be anything more than a regular human with normal priorities! This was stupid, why should I care about this whole spirit thing anyway? It's their concern, not mine.  
>I trudged back to my house, passing a couple of girls standing next to a lamp post, staring at Shuichi's house with a hopeful look.<p>

**"HE DOESN'T LOVE YOU!"** I yelled at the stalkers and watched in amusement as they ran away in surprise.


	9. Now with 40 percent more awkward

I stared up at the ceiling, just contemplating about recent events.  
>I acted a bit rudely to Genkai, Shuichi and Yusuke earlier; I should make it up to them. After all, they did save me.<br>A strangled chirping sound started from my window and I rolled my eyes, knowing what I'm going to see.  
>I walked over to the small demon and pushed it out of my window then locked it shut.<br>I hope this doesn't become a regular occurrence; I don't want to include pushing demons off my window sill as part of my daily routine...  
>Feeling restless, I walked out of my room and decided on cooking meals for Kazushi. The poor guy, I came home to see him all frantic because he was in a debate with himself over checking up on me or staying in the security of his room.<br>Note to self: don't neglect brother for longer than 8 hours.

In the end, I couldn't sleep for even a minute throughout the whole night.  
>It was already 8am, so I decided I might as well do something with my time.<br>Groaning, I stood up and walked around the house. I passed the window overlooking my street and paused, I think I owe Shuichi and apology for being an ungrateful prick. I walked to his front door and knocked twice, secretly hoping that no one was home- I don't really like apologizing.

The door opened and a woman greeted me with a warm smile. "Oh good morning Mrs. Minamino, I hope I'm not disturbing you at this time"  
>"Oh no, not at all!" she opened the door wider, "can I help you in any way?"<br>"Uh, is Shuichi home?"  
>"Yep! Come on in, he's upstairs. Feel free to wake him up if he's still sleeping"<br>I smiled and entered the house.  
>"Forgive me for asking, but are you his girlfriend?" she asked cautiously.<br>I shook my head and told her that I'm only visiting as a classmate.  
>"Oh, sorry! It's just that Shuichi doesn't usually have girls visit, well unless they're in a group with Yusuke, but not just... Well I thought it would be nice if... Oh what am I saying, I'll just let you go talk to Shuichi now!" she giggled and pointed me to the direction of his room.<br>I smiled and nodded, she's so cute.

"Knock knock.." I said as I knocked on his door.  
>Shuichi opened the door with a neutral expression, as per usual.<br>"Hi" I greeted awkwardly  
>"Hello"<br>"I-uh, I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time?"  
>"No, it's alright"<br>"Oh. Okay. Well, I just came to apologize for the way I acted earlier. I mean, you saved me from being dead meat and you even explained everything to me..."  
>I trailed off and waited for him to reply, only to be met with silence.<p>

Well, this is awkward.

"So yeah, sorry.

"There's nothing to apologize for, its all new to you, so I'd imagine that this whole thing would come as a surprise" shuichi smiled and invited me in.  
>He had a rather spacious room, and not surprisingly decorated by several incredibly healthy plants.<br>I turned around and took a moment to analyse the sight in front of me. The normally prim and proper Shuichi stood in the middle of his room wearing a simple white shirt and blue jeans and slightly tousled hair. Come to think of it, this is the first time seeing him without his uniform. I naturally assumed that was his only clothing, so it was kinda weird to think that he goes to sleep in anything other than the school uniform. I could just take a photo of this and sell it to the fangirls. Oh what am I thinking, I want more money, but I'm not THAT desperate to associate with those people.  
>"Well..." I shifted my weight between my heels and my toes; I figured that at least moving would break the awkwardness.<br>"Have you eaten breakfast?" Shuichi asked, I think he sensed the awkwardness too. "Uh yeah kinda. I took some spoonfuls here and there of my brother's breakfast so its alright"  
>Shuichi nodded then sat down on his bed, "I'm expecting Yusuke soon, the two of us have some demons to eradicate near a local park. Since you're here, would you like to join us? It would be a good idea if you witness what we do, or at least practise your powers."<p>

I'm seeing the two guys in action? I was actually genuinely excited, I wanna see what Shuichi is capable of.  
>"That'd be great!" I exclaimed, displaying that for once, I'm interested in something.<br>He smiled and for a while the two of us talked, more like trying to get to know each other better.  
>"Oh how rude of me, I didn't offer you a chair to sit on" he stood up to get the chair in the corner.<p>

"No its alright! You sit down, I'll-"  
>I made for the chair but tripped over his rug and fell face-first onto his crotch as he was sitting back down on the edge of his bed.<br>"Ughhhh..." I groaned, rubbing my elbow as I hit his knee and got up into a more comfortable kneeling position.  
>"Hey Shuichi, your friend Yusuke's-", Shuichi's mother trailed off as she looked at the sight in front of her,<br>I realized how it must've looked; me kneeling on the ground with my head between his legs, "Ohmyggoodness, I'll... I'm gonna leave..."

"Oh what's happening?" I heard a second voice as Yusuke's face appeared at the doorway.  
>Shuichi's flustered mother backed away as Yusuke entered the room.<br>"Nnnoo! This isn't what it looks like!" I turned to face them, when my hair caught on his zip, unzipping his jeans.  
>Shuichi's mother squealed in horror and I felt myself blushing furiously.<br>"Oh I see whats happening! I'm just gonna stay here and watc-I mean me and Mrs. Minamino will be downstairs and wait for you to finish up or something" Yusuke laughed loudly and led Shuichi's mom away from the doorway then closed the door.

Shuichi and I did not make eye contact for the rest of the day. In fact, we barely said a word to each other after the two of us untangled my hair out of his zipper. I followed the two guys to the park with my face buried in my hands out of sheer embarrassment with Yusuke snickering in front of me.

Great, now everything will be more awkward between the two of us.


	10. I choose you, spirit ball!

What is this image manager they speak of?  
>I'm currently browsing around for yummy Kurama pictures on google to add to this story, hehe.<p>

* * *

><p>I stared up at my ceiling, once again reflecting on my day.<br>Ughh, does that mean I have to apologize to Shuichi again...? I thought back when his mother and Yusuke caught us two at exactly the wrong moment. I squirmed under my blanket out of embarrassment. Ughh, I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT HAPPENED! Now I'll come across to his family and Yusuke as a horny teenage girl.

I went to make myself some hot chocolate to drown out my misery, and then slept soundly.

The following morning I got up and dressed in exercise clothes and sneakers. This is what I'm supposed to wear to kill demons, right?  
>Shuichi arranged another demon slaying session with Yusuke since apparently I didn't learn anything from being preoccupied. Well duh, my face fell between his legs.<br>It was the last place I wanted to stick my face near.

A while later, I was walking in silence, closely following Yusuke and Shuichi who were engrossed in their conversation about Kuwabara and Yukina. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Yukina and Shuichi aren't going out.  
>I guess his one true love is homework...<br>Actually I'm not so sure anymore, I've been so set on seeing him as a crazed nerd, but that was before I knew of the whole demon business.  
>I guess I should show more respect to him, seeing how Genkai spoke highly of him before. When I think about it, Shuichi has a whole other life, he's had a past that none of us quite know.<p>

We were surrounded by shrubs and trees at the edge of a large nature reserve, overlooking a lake.  
>I looked ahead, at Shuichi's back. He was once again wearing a white shirt, outlining his defined back. Well that's a sight I wouldn't mind seeing more often. If he's always moving around and fighting apparitions, then I wouldn't mind seeing his abdominal muscles either.<br>"Reina" Yusuke and Shuichi both came to a stop, snapping me back into reality, "Watch out. There are a few demons here. "

As soon as Yusuke warned me, five small demons threw themselves out of a tree towards us.  
>Yusuke shot his spirit gun at the one closest to him and Shuichi cut down two with his rose whip.<br>I looked up as one flew towards me, and then instinctively slapped it hard with the back of my hand.

**"BIIIITCH!"** I yelled at it.

The demon sat up on the ground and jumped at me. I slapped it down again, "PIMP SLAP!"  
>I raised my hand, ready for round three.<br>The demon just sat on the ground, scowling at me. "Yeah that's right, you like that?"  
>Yusuke and Shuichi looked on, perplexed while I was taunting the tiny demon as I stood over it with my hand raised.<br>I think I'm enjoying this more than I should...  
>Yusuke sighed and hit it with his spirit gun.<br>"Hey that was supposed to be my first enemy!" I complained.  
>"You took too long talking down to the thing!" Yusuke shot back, "we're fighting demons, this isn't a thug fight!"<br>"Okay..."  
>I turned around and saw the last two demons flying towards me. Now would be a great time to make use of that force field. I concentrated hard and visualized one directly in front of me. A weak purple sphere appeared, but faded away within a second. "Oh, fu-" I didn't even have time to finish my sentence when Shuichi's rose whip struck them so fast, stray bits of demon body parts hit my face as they fell from mid air. Ewwwwww...<p>

The three of us walked back to Shuichi's house, me feeling a tad disappointed that I couldn't form a force field to save my life. I mean, it's the only thing that I can do. If I could subconsciously make a couple in another world, how come I can't make one at will?

"It's alright Reina, you'll just require more training" Shuichi told me  
>"Hey at least you didn't train with the old hag" Yusuke recalled bad memories, "I had to sleep with snakes for a week"<br>Yeah I think I'd rather train with Shuichi, although my progress would be painstakingly slow, it sure beats intensively training for months.

I parted ways with Shuichi and Yusuke at my front door as they made their way to their own homes. I entered the door and saw my parents expecting me at the living room. Oh yeah, I forgot they'd be home today. "MY BABY!" my mother ran to hug me, "I missed you so much! DID YOU MISS ME?"  
>She stopped hugging me and looked me in the eyes, expecting an answer.<br>"Yes mom I missed you..." I replied.  
>"Who were those two boys with you?" my dad stood up from his seat<br>"Oh it's Shuichi and his friend"  
>"Shuichi, AYE?" my dad gave me a pat on the back and a thumbs up, "I knew you'd take my advice to seduce him!"<br>I face palmed.  
>"Seduce him and make him do your study notes and assignments for you!"<br>He smiled, feeling proud of his plan to get me higher grades.

I talked to my parents about how they've been the past couple of weeks then headed off to my room.  
>On my bed, I sat and practiced, visualizing a small sphere of energy in between my hands. Another feeble ball materialized but once again faded away quickly. I groaned in frustration, tried again and again. I don't want to rely on Shuichi or anyone to defend me; I want to fight my own battles.<p>

Exasperated, I concentrated really hard to gather energy from my body to the space in front of me. A bright sphere of purple formed, then shrunk to form a dense energy ball. Dammit, I can't get the force field right. The energy ball flickered twice then exploded, covering my room in a blinding light for a second, then disappeared leaving wisps of purple smoke in my room. What the hell was that?  
>I looked around my room and saw that a couple of my furniture has been knocked back and my lamp has shattered.<p>

I looked over to my window, at Shuichi's house and saw him looking towards my direction through his kitchen window. "What was that?" he mouthed to me.  
>"I dunno" I said and shrug my shoulders.<br>Guess I gotta practice manipulating energy more.

"REINA WHAT JUST HAPPENED? A BRIGHT LIGHT CAME FROM YOUR ROOM!" my mum yelled to me from downstairs  
>"The lamp exploded, but it's all good here" I made up an excuse and called back to her from my room.<p>

I went back to the window and saw that Shuichi was still visible from his kitchen.  
>"Try again" I can make out what he said.<br>"Can't, I'm too scared" I replied, complete with hand gestures to make sure he understood.  
>He smiled and raised an eyebrow, "I'll help you out tomorrow?"<br>"Definitely"  
>The rest of the evening was spent on the two of us carrying out a silent conversation from our windows.<p> 


End file.
